SE Valley Times

Five projects led by the Southwest Advanced Prototyping Hub at Arizona State University have received nearly $30 million in federal funding to enhance national security. The announcement was made by officials from the White House and U.S. Department of Defense during a visit to ASU MacroTechnology Works.

These projects aim to bolster the United States' chip-making capabilities and reduce reliance on foreign microelectronics sources. They are part of 33 nationwide projects awarded a total of $269 million under the CHIPS and Science Act-funded Microelectronics Commons initiative, as revealed by the U.S. Department of Defense.

The SWAP Hub is part of a network called Microelectronics Commons, established in 2023, which will receive $2 billion through 2027. Tarun Chhabra, deputy assistant to the president for technology and national security, stated that "Well, $2 billion is, of course, a lot of money in absolute terms," emphasizing competition with China in the global chip industry.

Kyle Squires, dean of ASU's Ira A. Fulton Schools of Engineering and CEO of SWAP Hub, noted that current engineering students will benefit from these investments. "Many of these talented young men and women will be the workforce of tomorrow," he said.

Maynard Holliday highlighted results from partnerships like ASU's collaboration with DECA Technologies on North America's first Fan-Out Wafer-Level Packaging research capability.

Phoenix Mayor Kate Gallego expressed gratitude for local investment: "We are investing locally. The state of Arizona has stepped up with big workforce commitments."

The five funded projects include:

1. Integrated RF GaN Technology for NextG Wireless Systems.

2. SMART — Scalable Modular Architecture for RF Transceivers.

3. Spaceborne Low-Energy AI Computing.

4. Multi-MHz High Density Ultra-fast RADAR Power Converter.

5. ARC-V Secure Processor.

ASU President Michael Crow emphasized the university's role in making America competitive globally: “Arizona State University has been an advocate for a collaborative approach.”

The SWAP Hub includes over 170 members from large companies to small businesses like Sandia National Laboratories, which supports high-reliability semiconductors development.

During their visit, officials also announced funding for California-based hubs led by USC's Information Sciences Institute and Stanford University under the same initiative.